Green is the New Pink

Jade Gray and John O’Loghlen with environmentalist and personal hero Jane Goodall

Our Green Dream

Inspired by the clothing brand (and pioneer activist corporation) Patagonia, Gung Ho! founders Jade Gray and John O’Loghlen wanted to build a different kind of company, a sustainable company that doesn’t just exist for profit, but takes responsibility for its people and its impact on the planet as well.

In pursuit of our “green dream”, we partnered an international environmental consultancy to help design our roadmap. We then hired a full-time Environmental Manager and built our own Green Team.

After implementing our waste classification program and recycling our paper, plastic, metal and glass, we have managed to reduce our waste by 50.6% in 2014. We also switched to 100% recycled paper for menus and pizza boxes, saving an estimated 374 trees that year. And we also began publishing an annual GRI report, one of the first China-based SME’s to do so.

There are many challenges to maintaining a consistent effort to become a truly sustainable company, but it’s a dream that lies at the core of Gung Ho! Pizza.

Sustainable Business

Defined by the United Nations, sustainable development is a model that “meets the needs of the present world without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own”. A sustainable model measures its success as a business not just by profit, but also through its impact on people (our team, our customers, our suppliers and the surrounding community), and its impact on the planet’s environment.

This is more commonly known as the 3 P’s (representing People, Planet and Profits), or as the “triple bottom line”.

Sustainable Design

Sustainable design is a passion of ours. Wherever possible, we’ve utilized sustainable materials, like brick made from recycled mining waste, and particle board made from discarded wheat straw.
Our in-store dining spaces were designed by Beijing-based COROMODO, a Colombian design team responsible for some of Beijing’s hottest and most innovative food & beverage spaces.

We are now a Certified B Corporation

Gung Ho! Pizza is now a part of a community of more than 1,900 companies from 50 countries in over 130 industries with one unifying goal: redefining success in business. We meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability, and are using the power of business to alleviate poverty, address climate change, and build strong local communities and great places to work.
Gung Ho! Pizza is the third company to become a Certified B Corporation in mainland China.

What is a B Corp?

What Fair Trade certification is to coffee, B Corps is to sustainable enterprise, leading the global movement of people using business as a force for good.

B Corp Accreditation

Becoming a Certified B Corporation is a long process. Each company is required to complete a rigorous assessment covering governance and transparency, treatment and welfare of workers, as well as impact on the community and the environment in order to earn a reviewed minimum score of 80 points out of a possible 200 with most companies scoring around 30 points on their first attempt.

About B Lab

B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good™. Its vision is that one day all companies compete not only to be the best in the world, but the Best for the World® and as a result society will enjoy a more shared and durable prosperity. B Lab drives this systemic change by:

Building a global community of Certified B Corporations™ who meet the highest standards of verified, overall social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability

Using innovative corporate structures to align the interests of business with those of society and to help high impact businesses be built to last

Helping tens of thousands of businesses, investors, and institutions manage their impact—and the impact of the businesses with whom they work—with as much rigor as their profits.

Our Green Team

Our ‘Green Team’ is made up of people from all stores and all departments and forms the backbone of our environmental department. The Green Team is tasked with raising awareness of environmental issues in the company as well as carrying out our Green Action plan.

WE IMPACT

We Impact is a team of creative engagement specialists dedicated to the development and promotion of Sustainable Lifestyles through knowledge, culture, and business. Gung Ho! Pizza contracted them to consult on our Green Action Plan. Their vision is a world where sustainable living is a simple fact of life for everyone.

Our Journey to Date…

Our Green Action Timeline

2009

Inspired by sustainable business pioneers Patagonia, John & Jade commit to applying the 3P’s philosophy to their new startup.

We are now a B Corp!

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

Gung Ho! Company Culture

1. Brutal Honesty:Encourage open and honest communication in all things! Without honesty there is no trust and without trust there is no team. Whether it's players telling their shift leaders how it is on the front line, or you guys emailing John and Jade critical feedback, honesty is a key part of the Gung Ho! game.

Gung Ho! Admin

About Gung Ho! Pizza

PIZZA WITH PURPOSE

Gung Ho is on a mission to create a different kind of pizza company. One that is as committed to people and the planet as it is to business, that pushes the boundaries, and celebrates the New Zealand way of life!